Stocks Rise; Radio Shack Climbing, Moody’s Falling

By Sam Mamudi

The leading stock indexes are all up fractionally in early trades, with the Standard & Poor’s 500 index currently seeing a small gain for the week.

Among the early climbers are shares of RadioShack (RSH) after it said that Joseph Magnacca would be its new CEO. Magnacca was formerly president of the Duane Reade drugstore chain before it was bought by Walgreen (WAG).

Up slightly is McDonald’s (MCD) despite reporting a 1.9% drop, more than expected, in global same-store sales. However, US sales were up 0.9%, and as Reuters notes, January’s figure suffered from comparison to an especially strong 2012 number, which saw a 6.7% rise.

Ratings’s agency Moody’s (MCO) is down close to 4% after Reuters reported that it too may be targeted by the Justice Department and US states for how it rated mortgage-backed securities in the mid-2000s. McGraw-Hill (MHP), whose Standard & Poor’s unit was slapped with a lawsuit this week, has seen its stock lose 26% since the news; Moody’s is down about 18%

About Stocks To Watch

Earnings reports, corporate strategies and analyst insights are all part of what moves stocks, and they’re all covered by the Stocks to Watch blog. We also look at macro issues, investor sentiments and hidden trends that are affecting the market. Stocks to Watch gives you the full picture of the U.S. stock markets, all day long.

The blog is written by Ben Levisohn, a former stock trader who has covered financial markets for the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg and BusinessWeek.